Bubble chart – An overview
What is it for?
This chart type has a few different use cases that involve customizing a group of circles in order to compare them. Whether you choose to size bubbles proportionally, position them on an axis, group by color or add images and text, you can create engaging and beautiful visualizations.
How to get started
1
Your data must be in a wide format with one row for each bubble, the only required column being
Label.
For example, your data might look like this:
| App |
Downloads (millions) |
Type |
Image |
| TikTok |
656 |
Social network |
Image URL |
| Instagram |
545 |
Social network |
Image URL |
| Facebook |
416 |
Social network |
Image URL |
| WhatsApp |
395 |
Messenger |
Image URL
|
Add extra columns to customize the color, size, axis values and images of your bubbles, and bind any extra information under
Info for popups. To learn more about uploading images in Flourish, click
here.
2
There are two ways you can use numeric data in a bubble chart: either sizing bubbles
by their values or positioning them on an
X axis. If you have
numeric values, you can choose to use
one or both of these bindings.
3
Once you have bound all relevant columns, you can switch to the
Preview tab to customize your chart.
If you have bound a column under
Axis values, first set the
alignment of your bubbles under
Bubble styles. The
Center option clusters bubbles together, while the
Left to right option positions them on an
X
axis.
WARNING: Currently, this template doesn’t support date formats. To learn how you can position bubbles based on a date, read this help doc.
4
To ensure that the bubbles are always sized to optimally fit the screen, the template takes into consideration the number of entries, as well as the minimum and maximum value of your dataset. Then, it automatically resizes each bubble. However, you can set a fixed space between each bubble.
5
Under
Chart setup, you can specify the visualization's
height mode. In
Fill space mode, the graphic will fill the whole container, which is the standard Flourish responsive chart size. If you opt for
Aspect ratio instead, you can
manually set the aspect ratio of the plot, as well as the mobile breakpoint.
6
Under
Labels, style the text labels for your bubbles adjusting text
weight,
style,
case,
color and
shadow. If you have images, you can also adjust their border and opacity under the
Images settings.
6
Depending on your data, you might have up to three different legends for
color,
size and
position. Under the
Legend settings, customize options like orientation, alignment, ordering and add custom legend titles.
Here's a few ways you might want to display your legends:
Get started with your own Bubble chart now! »
